Sandals

I where flip flops and have them put them on before polish.

Ditto

Same as kellyeng. Also, be sure to ask for the toe separators things be put on before they start to polish.

Oh, what a luxury. I had my first for the season a few weeks ago. Have to say, I just love how nice my feet look and feel after a pedi! Even tho it is still a bit chilly, I like to throw on flip flops to run to the store, and now I'm flip flop and sandal ready.

Have fun!

Generally I bring a pair of flip flops with me. Once in a while I forget and my shop has this sort of disposable flip flop they give you in that case - they're good for a few pedicures. In the winter I still bring flip flops and head straight to my car and then home. But one time it was snowing so much they insisted I wear my boots. After a normal drying time they sprayed my toes with the quick dry spray then slipped little plastic baggies over my toes - then my socks and boots. Everything was fine when I got home.

Here is a link that might be useful:

Crocs flip flops. The souls of Crocs are slightly textured so it's easier to walk with all the products slathered all over your feet. A flip flop with a super smooth soul can be uncomfortably slippery -- and squishy, noisy! :D

Sandles or flip flops. I love love love getting pericures.

Sandals . . . when I remember to bring/wear them! I had my first pedi of the season the day before we flew to Tucson for Easter and I had to shuffle out in a pair of their disposable flip-flops. I'm glad they have them, but they're very hard to walk in!
BTW, does anybody get their toes done in the French nail style? I've been having my (finger) nails done like this for years but then never my toes until Easter. I LOVE them, but my DH thinks it looks "very strange". I'll probably ignore him and keep them up, though ;^D
Lynn

Yes, I too like the french pedicure. It looks great but the polish wears off pretty quickly. It may be that I am forever barefoot without forethought of the jeopardy of the french pedi.

Cannot imagine why anyone would want to do that! LOL Toes with polish on the nails still are toes. I have never seen a foot that I would consider pretty. Guess I am just not a girly girl, eh?

Les - you sound like my sister! She hates seeing bare feet. But she gets pedis to make her feet look better b/c she wants to wear sandals (don't ask me why...).

I've never had a mani (except for doing it myself) or a pedi (not really a sandal person, *hate* flips flops or anything b/t my toes). Though I've been looking at my feet lately and thinking I need to do something about these calluses.

I've never had a pedi either. (I'm definitely not a girly girl, either, Les. Tomboy since the word go.) I've done my own nails for years and usually keep them short in summer because gardening just trashes them if they're long. Usually I do a french manicure but in summer I like corals that lean pink, not orange.

Which brings me to the question, is the standard pedi color in the red family? That's what I mostly see. Some women or girls I know will always have a red pedi, but don't do their fingernails, or maybe just a coat of clear. So is it a case of match fingernails to toes, otherwise leave fingernails bare?

I was watching TV the other night, surfing, and hit that Tori Spelling reality show. Now normally I would have kept right on surfing since that one is annoying to me. But I did a rewind, pause and double take because it was a shot of her hubby's feet, in all their bare white glory, adorned with black polish. That was a first for me and decided I really didn't find it all that attractive. ;)

Find myself in a mood since turning 50 where I want to do more things I've never done. Doesn't have to be big either; trying a new food, reading a classic I missed, painting my toenails! ;D Just not sure I have the feet for it. I'm tall so wear a 9/10 shoe and double blessing, C or D width. And from a lifetime of going barefoot in summer, they are not lily white, usually tan. So not slender or particularly delicate looking. They're not hideous as feet go, they're just feet. ;)

Ajsmama, regarding calluses, I had a terrible problem for many years. I'm talking thick callouses on my heels with deep fissures occasionally during the summer months when I wear mainly sandals. I tried everything, and I mean everything and never made much headway. Then about two months ago, DH brought home a new product on the market that his friend, a podiatrist, gave him to try on me. It's called "Gormel Creme" from Gordon Laboratories (Upper Darby, PA ). And, for the record, I have nothing to do with this company or product and don't know anyone associated with it. But, this stuff really works and works quickly! My feet are beautifully soft and uncallused now . . . and I saw major changes within the first week. I don't know where I can buy my next jar of it or how much it costs, but its worth whatever price, IMO. I plan on googling the company to find out where to buy more someday soon, although you only use a very small amount every day, and so I can tell that this 4 oz jar will last quite a while.
Anyhoo, just thought I'd let you and anyone else with foot callous problems about my great ( no, awesome!) find.
Lynn

OK, posting that made me curious. I just googled the company and here's the product, Gormel Creme (which I misspelled in my previous post). I was surprised to see that the 4 oz jar of the cream is pretty reasonable, seeing how long it lasts. I was afraid that it was going to be 3 or 4 times as much. I didn't check to see if it can be found locally . . . yet, anyway.
Lynn
"Gormel Creme"

moonshadow there are no rules about pedi colors although I agree with you, it does seem that most women get something in the red family. I'm a rebel and NEVER wear red, always pink or coral on my toes. I love getting pedicures but more often than not do my own. My feet simply feel better when I take care of them and needless to say they look better in the summer. In one of the threads a while back about skincare someone mentioned using Alpha hydroxy on their hands and feet regularly. I went out and bought it that day and have been using it faithfully - what a difference. Whoever it was that mentioned it - thank you!

Funny post les. I am in the non-girly girl category as well. I've had manicures in the past, no polish. Just cleanup the cuticles and have my nails filed and buffed.

Pedicures - I just started getting them done within the last few years after receiving a gift certificate. Honestly have to say that I like how my feet look after the pedicure as opposed to before. LOL

I always choose a subtle color for the toes so as not to draw attention. I don't care for the blues and greens that are all the rage at the moment. Besides my age being a deterrent, I don't have the skin tone for those shades. I don't think toes are particularly pretty either, but do think they look much better after a pedicure.

Do yourself a big favor and go over to Ulta (or similar) BEFORE the pedicure. Pick out your color (my fav is OPI Red) and take it with you. Have the technician use YOUR bottle for the color. This way, you can make repairs as the chips start to happen. For me, this is somewhere in the second week post-pedi.

I almost always do French polish, or sheer neutral on my hands. I paint/do projects too much to worry about a manicure.

In the summer, I keep flip flops in my car just in case!

Great idea about keeping a pair of sandals in your car, Tomorrow . . . I'm going to start doing that myself.
I like the French manicures because they look more natural and last longer. I don't have to touch them up very often. I spend too much time in my garden to be bothered with polish every day or so. So far my French pedi has held up very well, and I have all brick floors.
Lynn

Thanks dlm. (I'm looking for Alpha H now.) Since you don't do reds on your feet, do you match toenails to fingernails?

I thought of another question. When I used to get manicures they always massaged my hands till I felt all the day's stress melt away. So the massage, do they do that with pedicures too, then? Cause if it's a stress releaser, I'm gonna be all over it! (Forget about doing it myself!)

(That reminds me, a tip for anyone on a budget: the girls I worked with and I would go to a nearby Beauty School, get great manicures and since they were done by students it was far less expensive. I've had manicures at nicer salons, it's been ages, but honestly there was no noticeable difference except price. I always took my own polish.)

Flip flops.

I keep my toes polished year round. I have little feet (size 6). I have been told they are cute. LOL I love pedis for the french manicure. I love that look but cannot do my toes. If not a french, then I usually have a deep, bright pink on my toes. I do not like polish on my fingernails other than a french manicure or a pale buff color.

There is a product by Orly - can't think of the exact name - bond or something like that - that will extend your polish significantly. I always use it. I am one who pulls out sandals/mules/flip flops, etc. as soon as I can and being here in the south can wear them long into the fall. I hate my feet covered.

tina

Every place I've had a pedi there has been a foot rub, some better than others. If nothing else, you get a quick massage when they rub the lotion on. My regular nail shop does a great rub up to the knees - and that's after the exfoliating! I'll give you an hour to stop that......zzzzzzzzz.

I don't worry about matching fingers and toes. My fingernails are very thin and even though I garden, paint, clean..... I try to keep them polished otherwise they split like crazy. It's alway a sheer pale pink of one kind or another so it's very subtle, works with anything I put on my toes but if it didn't..... oh, well!

moonshadow - the salon that I go to for pedis does massage your feet and up the calf almost to the knee. They apply a exfoliant and then body cream before polishing the toes. Great tip about the beauty schools!

Oooh, the massage part sounds heavenly.

I've been doing my own toes for years. Last year I decided that I'd get a pedicure at the beginning of the summer every year. Just went last week. Didn't turn out that great. They didn't file them evenly as I hoped they would, and they talked me into a mani (just $5 they kept saying) which lasted all of about three days before it started wearing down.

I'll probably stick to doing it myself from now on. I can do my own toes easily and never really bother with my fingers.

I do agree to wear flip flops. If you wear sandals other than flip flops, make sure that all toenails are visible. I have lots of sandals where my little toe is sort of buried under the straps, and that would smudge that toe. I also do bring my own polish.

I wear nothing but sandals and open toed shoes from April to at least September and longer -- I live in Houston and the weather stays warm. I usually do my toes once a week on Sunday. Old color off, new color on. Pinks and reds. I don't do blues or greens or other colors. But I've seen them all on fingers and toes of friends and acquaintances. As far as I can tell, anything goes.

Today someone came into work with pink toes with a silver criss cross pattern. It looked really cool. You'd have to have a steady hand for that!